Jordan Looms Large In Magic's Conversation

ON THE MAGIC BEAT

November 29, 1990|By Barry Cooper of The Sentinel Staff

For today's Orlando Magic scuttlebutt, we shall turn the podium over to the players, who allowed a reporter to eavesdrop on their private conversations during the recent five-game road trip to the West Coast.

Sorry that there isn't any scandal here, but when you are Terry Catledge and earning $9.5 million over 6 years or you are Dennis Scott and raking in $12 million over 5, what's there to beef about?

Your Magic heroes are more interested in talking about plans for a fifth new car purchase in less than two years (Nick Anderson), how they managed to buy a $95,000 Mercedes for $70,000 (Catledge), wondering how it is that Michael Jordan has his own suite for every road game (Scott) or trying to home in on the latest front-office gossip (every player).

Of course, not all the players are so carefree. Eight of them are in the final year of their contracts, and most of them do not expect to be back. Perhaps the most chronic worrier is second-year forward Michael Ansley, who still is very much a wide-eyed kid from Alabama living a dream. He isn't ready to wake up. Other would-be free agents, such as Mark Acres, Scott Skiles and Greg Kite, are better able to handle the pressure, because they've been around. They know some team will pick them up.

There are a lot of cliques on the team. Skiles and Jeff Turner hang out together. Acres and Kite tend to be loners. The coaches don't socialize with the players. New rookie free agent Howard Wright, deeply religious, is usually in his room at night reading The Bible. Anderson and Scott are buddies, but they also look up to veterans Jerry Reynolds and Catledge, and the Cat Man can be a real night owl. Now that his buddy Sidney Green has been traded, Sam Vincent has become a lone wolf. The players who hang around Catledge have a universal nickname. They refer to themselves as ''Dawg,'' as in, ''Where are we eating tonight, Dawg?''

By the way, only two of Nick's new cars are for himself. The others are gifts for relatives.

Oh well, pull up a chair.

Skiles: ''How many free agents do we have? Eight? I bet at the most they only bring two back. I can see them bringing Jeff back. They like the role that he plays. The rest of us? Who knows, maybe Greg.''

Catledge: ''They must like Howard. I can see it. They are on a youth movement.''

Skiles: ''They are probably going to have to do something with Morlon (Wiley, on the injured list) pretty soon. It's no telling what they will do. If they decide to trade me, that's fine. I'm not asking to be traded, but I understand how the business works.''

Acres: ''If you spend time trying to figure out what management is going to do, you'll drive yourselves nuts. At least it was good to get out there the other night and at least break a sweat.'' (Acres hadn't played in six games before receiving seven minutes against the Clippers.) Anderson: ''The next contract I get, I am definitely going to go out and buy another car. If I was making the kind of money Michael Jordan is making, I would buy a car anytime I felt like it.''

Wright: ''I couldn't do anything with Mark Eaton. I couldn't even see around him.''

Scott: ''If I was Michael Jordan, I would be large too. They tell me Michael is so large he checks in under an assumed name. That's what John Salley (of the Pistons) does when he's in New York. He registers under the name of Islam Mackey. If I was as large as Michael, I would register as Bart Simpson Jr.''

Scott: ''When we go to D.C., I'm going to get a suite. You should see the suite Michael has. (The Bulls were in Los Angeles at the same time the Magic were). He has two bedrooms. Two! We're up there playing cards, and I look up and here is Janet Jackson walking in. Man!''

Anderson: ''I'm down to $17 (with three days to go). I know now not to play blackjack with Michael Jordan. The guy is incredible.''

Catledge: ''I can't go out like I used to. I can't even go to any of the clubs anymore (such as Thee Doll House). Too many people watching. As soon as I start playing bad, somebody's on the phone (to the Magic) saying they saw me someplace.''